Chapter 008: Bracelet

Although holding a flashlight, it is of little use, as nothing can be seen in the dark mist

I turned to look at him, and Li Damin unexpectedly stood up, walking towards the coffin with a flashlight. He might have thought I was still there

I gently pulled down, wanting to slide it off my wrist, only to find that the bracelet was fastened tightly.

I quickly said: "I found it. However, the situation is somewhat strange"

I said: "I found it, but I can't take it off; it's too tight."

I lifted the bracelet and carefully compared it with the mural. Suddenly, I was startled; could the patterns on the bracelet be part of the maze in the mural

I am truly repulsed; this bracelet seems to hold some secret, and it certainly does not appear to be a good item. After hesitating for quite some time, I slowly and reluctantly fastened the bracelet onto my right wrist, pinching both ends and gently pressing. With a "click," it snapped tightly into place, fitting perfectly.

He said: "When we lit the everlasting lamp, we all smelled something inside, which is likely a result of some kind of illusion; that black smoke is part of the illusion. Only by wearing the bracelet can this misty illusion be unraveled. So you are fine because you wore it, while I can only be trapped in the black smoke." He pondered for a moment: "Perhaps this is a means for Wang Yue to protect herself."

He continued to stare at his phone. I slowly walked towards him, but he did not look up, likely unable to see me. I suddenly realized that this bracelet was indeed magical, capable of allowing me to pierce through the fog and enhance my vision

I told him that nothing can be discerned here anymore, and we will discuss it again after finding that person tomorrow

I hurried over, picked up the phone from the ground, and found only these few audio files. This means that the information currently available is limited to this extent

Li Damin looked at me with a gloomy expression, clearly displeased

"Damin, what are you doing?" I shouted at the top of my lungs.

As I walked past one wall, the bracelet showed no change. However, when I reached the next wall, the patterns on the bracelet suddenly glimmered. I raised my eyebrows; this metal bracelet was engraved with many peculiar and strange patterns, the exact design of which was hard to describe. In that brief moment, the patterns seemed to come alive as if electrified.

"Li Damin, was it you who did this?" I asked

Li Damin asked: "Have you put it on?"

Li Damin murmured a sentence, which was not very clear, seemingly saying, so this is how it is

My throat twitched, and the hairs all over my body stood on end. How did Wang Yue know that I took off the bracelet at this moment? She seems to have calculated it too accurately.

I leaned over the edge of the coffin, shining a flashlight inside. The interior was shrouded in thick mist, making it difficult to see anyone.

"What? You said there was a recording?" Li Damin said: "I swear to heaven, my phone didn't move at all"

Isn't this bracelet meant to be fastened on rather than worn?

At this moment, the voice of Wang Yue continued to play from the phone: "You have put on the bracelet, very good! The bracelet is the first item; if you move around in front of the wall with it, you will find the second item"

I am beginning to find it interesting; Wang Yue's design is truly a series of interconnected layers. I turned on my flashlight and started to move along the four walls, raising my wrist to carefully observe the reaction of the bracelet.

Li Damin should not be able to see me; he turned his face sideways and suddenly asked, "Can you see me?"

In that instant, everything before my eyes suddenly became clear, and my gaze was able to pierce through the black mist. I clearly saw Li Damin not far away, sitting cross-legged on the ground, staring intently at the phone on the ground, his brow furrowed.

I clearly saw Li Damin reaching into the coffin to touch it. I felt displeased; why didn't you discuss your actions with me first? How could you act so recklessly

You heard the recording just now. I said: "Now the matter is at a standstill here, we must find Uncle Zhong."

Li Damin sighed: "What a pity, what a pity. I have to catch a flight to Fujian early tomorrow morning"

I ask how

I have looked and looked, yet I cannot understand what it means, while the brilliance on the bracelet continues to flicker

I stood before this wall and examined it closely; it depicted a very strange mural. A person stood on a solitary tree atop a cliff, surrounded by swirling black smoke. This solitary tree was also part of a vast and intricate maze, which meant that the entire maze was suspended above an abyss of unfathomable depth. The person within it was profoundly isolated and in peril

I made a sound of acknowledgment and said, "After putting on this bracelet, the black mist before my eyes disappeared, and with the beam of the flashlight, the scene in the room became very clear"

The heart felt like a thousand ants were crawling, the throat moved up and down, as if understanding yet not understanding, just about to study it in detail, when Li Damin suddenly said: "I ask you, have you found it?"

As we both emerged from the bedroom, Li Damin remarked, "How strange, the black smoke did not come out through the door, as if it were confined within the bedroom."

I discovered a painting. I said: The bracelet reacted in front of this painting, and there was light shining. Wait a moment...

Fingers gently glided along the clues, and when I reached the very end, I only heard the wall creaking a few times before a shadow suddenly opened. I reacted quickly, dodging backward, fortunately avoiding being hit.

I was truly infuriated and retorted, "I am helping you... I have indeed boarded a pirate ship."

"Don't worry about that for now, just put it on first," Li Damin urged

It turned out that a window had been opened in the wall, and a person was clearly visible in the "window." I was caught off guard, and my soul nearly flew away in fright. It took me a while to react and, upon closer inspection, I realized that the person in the window was actually me. In other words, what was in the window was a mirror.

Li Damin approached in the dark: "Lin Cong, are you there?"

Li Damin is perceptive; upon detecting my tone, he let out a muffled grunt and said, "I am actually worried about you; just don't keep shouting about calling the police."

I attempted to touch that gap, which was very fine, like a spider's silk. As I gently pried it with my hand, I heard a crisp sound of "crack" in the silence, as if a mechanism had been activated. To my astonishment, the bracelet actually slipped off Wang Yue's wrist!

I tried several times, but I couldn't move, and I didn't dare to exert too much force, fearing that I might injure Wang Yue's wrist. At that moment, in the darkness, Li Damin asked, "Have you found it?"

He raised his voice and asked, "What did you find there?"

We arrived at the bedroom door, and it was truly miraculous that the door could actually open. It seemed that Wang Yue was controlling everything from behind. Opening the bedroom door indicated that I had completed all the tasks she had assigned. As for what to do next, I could only wait to see what the next step would be.

I tried again and it was indeed too tight, and I started to sweat a little on my forehead. At that moment, I suddenly felt a notch at the bottom of the bracelet, and my heart sank as I thought, could it be possible

I looked again at the coffin and the masked figure inside it, everything was so clear

Li Damin did not come over, still in the darkness. He thought for a moment and said: "Use another method."

I hurriedly took the bracelet out of the coffin, and at that moment, the recording on my phone continued to play: "Lin Cong, put it on!"

"Great people." I said, "We are not playing games; this is very complex and strange. In my view, this is a serious matter. You should keep it to yourself and not speak of it."

"Damin, if not, you should not get involved in what comes next." I struggled for a while and said through gritted teeth

I took a deep breath and continued to feel around. This hand found nothing, so I switched to the other hand. As I was feeling around, suddenly my whole body jolted; I had truly touched a bracelet. This bracelet was tightly clasped around Wang Yue's right wrist, and the texture I felt was likely metallic.

Are you going for a week? I asked

Li Damin nodded subconsciously, rubbing his hands and said: "I will try to come back as early as possible, this matter is too interesting."

I am by the wall I said

Li Damin's entire body stiffened, and he immediately withdrew his hand from the coffin, chuckling: "I have reached beside the coffin, are you not here?"

Although I knew it was a mirror, I felt uncomfortable looking at the figure inside and quickly averted my gaze. At that moment, a voice came from my phone: "Lin Cong, you have found both items, very good. Now you need to find a person; only with him can we be helped."

I listened carefully, the sound stopped, the recording was gone

So... how did she know that I took off the bracelet I wondered, feeling a chill at the back of my neck

To be honest, his recent act of secretly touching the coffin made me quite uncomfortable. I also do not wish to involve too many people in what follows, so I did not say anything to persuade him to stay.

I have a vague feeling that what is to come will likely involve Wang Yue's most secret privacy, and it should not be known to others.

I suddenly discovered the anomaly; the texture on the bracelet indeed matched a certain maze area of the mural. I leaned in to compare, and it was indeed an exact match. After some contemplation, I attempted to move my hand along the mural, following the directions and routes that corresponded to the lines illuminated on the bracelet.

I forced myself to endure the fear, hesitating for quite a while before finally reaching my hand in. At that moment, I had resolved to go all in. As I groped around, I indeed touched a hand, the slippery sensation coming through. When I was dating Wang Yue, I had held hands before, and at that time, I found it truly delicate, but at this very moment, I felt an overwhelming sense of disgust and fear.

"Listen carefully," Wang Yue said on the phone. "He is in Room 506 on the fifth floor of the Jingming Building. You should visit him tomorrow morning and look for a man named Uncle Zhong. Then show him the bracelet, and he will take care of it."

He and I arrived in the living room, where there was light. Li Damin held my wrist, carefully examining the bracelet. After a moment of contemplation, he slowly said that he seemed to have figured out what those black fumes were about

I could only slowly find the coffin by recalling its approximate location, nervously touching the edge of the coffin with my hand